Method of manufacture of phenols and the like



hatented Sept. 26, i922,

STATES RAPHAEL FOCI'US, 0F PHOENKXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD GE MANUFAUTURE 0F PHENOLS AND THE LIKE.

Ho Drawing. Application filed July it,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAPHAEL Poems, a citizen of Lithuania, residing at Phoenixville, in the county of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Method of Manufacture of Phenols and the like, of

which the followin is a specification.

My invention re ates to improvements in the method of manufacture of phenols and the like, that is to say, in the method of manufacture of resorcin, phenols, naphthols and other similar products, in which the OH group or groups have to he introduced by fusion with caustics. In the present method of manufacture of such products, it is necessary, in order to efiect the proper chemical reactions, for the purpose of introducing the 0H group into the product, to use a quantity of caustic which is largely in excess of the amount which would theoretically be reuired to supply the. necessary elements in t e reaction, and heretofore this excess of caustic so employed has been lost.

The object, therefore, of my present invention is to provide certain improvements in the common method of manufacture of resorcin, phenols, naphthols and other simi-. lar products which will result in savin the excess of caustic which has heretofore een lost, and which will also result in saving the additional quantity of sulphuric or other acid which was required for neutralization of the excess of caustic.

The nature and charactertistic features of my invention will be more readily understood from the following description of the preferred method of carrying out the process.

The common method of manufacture of resorcin, phenols, naphthols and other simi lar products, comprises the introduction into a material, such as the sulfonic or chlor derivatives of benzol, naththaline or the like, having the other necessary elements, of an additional OH group or groups, which was usually done by mixing saidmaterial with a, quantity of caustic which, for the purpose of efi'ecting the necessary reaction, must he greatly in excess of the quantity which would theoretically be required to supply the OH group in the product. in the manufacture of resorcin, for which purpose the method of my present invention is particularly adaptable, the particular salt used is sodium 1920. Serial No. 3810M.

benzen disulfonate. The mixture is then brought to and maintained in a state of fusion until the necessary reactions take place, after which the same is dissolved in a suilicient volume of water and thoroughly agitated therein, so that the resulting liquid contains the particular desired product, such as resorcinate, phenolate, naphtholate or other similar product, as the case may be, together with the excess of caustic in solution and a quantity of mineral salt, such as sodium sulphite or sodiumchloride, .in suspension, which mineral salt, after the agitation ceases, will settle to the bottom. After the mineral salt has thus settled, the liquid containing the desired product, together with the excess of caustic, may be drawn oil, and the excess of caustic destroyed and the desired product removed.

, lln the practice of the method of my present invention the liquid containing the an cess of caustic and. the desired product, is then concentrated by evaporation of the water, and may he used again in the fusion process, either in its condition after the concentration, or with the addition of more caustic to su ply the quantity which will be required in t e repetition of the process, the product being permitted to remain in the liquid for several repetitions of this step of the process. V hen a suficient quantity of the desired product has been accumulated through successive repetitions of the process above described, the same may he removed from the liquid in the manner well known to those skilled in the art.

It will thus be seen that there is provided an improved method of manufacture of resorcin, phenol, naphthol and other similar product, which is much more economical than the method at present in common use in that the excess of caustic which has heretofore been lost is utilized in the subsequent reuse, and also that the additional quantity of sulphuric acid which has heretofore been required for the neutralization of the excess of caustic employed will also be saved. It will be found that the presence of the resorcinates, naphtholates or other similar product, as the case ma be, has important influence in producing arger yields of the phenols, naphthols or the like, from the same amounts of caustic soda and sulfonicsalts, than are produced by the practice oi the present method without the reuse oi the t ll Edd

llll" liquid containing the caustic accompanied. by the accumulated product, as hereinbefore described.

Having thus described the nature and characteristic features of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The improvement in the art of manufacturing products in which an OH group is introduced by fusion with caustic in excess of the quantity of such caustic v iich is used up in the reaction, which improvement comprises concentrating the liquid containing the excess caustic, and reusing the same containing the accumulated product in a repetition of the process.

2. The improvement in the art of manufacturing products in which an OH group is introduced by fusion with caustic in excess of the quantity of such caustic which is used up in the reaction, which improvement comprises concentrating the liquid containing the excess caustic after the mineral salts have been permitted to settle, and reusing the same containing the accumulated prodnot in a repetition of the process.

3. The improvement in the art of manufacturing products in which an OHgroup is introduced by fusion with caustic in excess of the quantity of such caustic which is used up in the reaction, which improvement comprises concentrating the liquid containing the excess caustic after the mineral salts have been permitted to settle, and reusing the same containing the accumulated product, together with art added quantity of caustic, in a repetition of the process.

4. In the method of manufacture of phenols and the like nich consists of the introduction of the OH group or groups into sulfonic or chlor derivatives of benzol, naphthalene or the like by fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and

then drawing off liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which consists in concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated product in a repetition of the process.

5. In the method of manufacture of phenols and the like which consists of the introduction of the OH group or groups into sulfonic or chlor derivatives of benzol, naphthalene or the like by fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then se arat- 4 ing the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing off the liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which. consists in concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated product in a repetition of the process, and removing the desired product from the liquid when the excess of caustic has been used up in the reactions.

6. In the method of manufacture of phenols and the like which consists of the introduction of the OH group or grou into sulfonic or chlor derivatives of time], naphthalene or the like by fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of wa ter and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing off the liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which consists in concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated product together with an added quantity of caustic in a repetition of the process.

7. In the method of manufacture of phenols and the like which consists of the introduction of the OH group or groups into sulfonic or chlor derivatives of benzol, naphthalene or the like by the fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineralsalts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing off the liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which consists in concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated product together with an added quantity of caustic in a repetition of the process, and removing the desired product from the liquid when the excess of caustic has been used up in the reactions.

8. In the method of manufacture of resorcin which consists of the introduction of the OH groups into sodium benzen disulfonate by the fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing 0d the liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which consists in then concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated prodnot in a repetition of the process.

9. In the method of manufacture of resorcin which consists of the introduction of the OH groups into sodium benzen disulfonate by fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing off the liquid containing the desired roduct together with the excess of caustic, the imwe provement in said method which consists in then concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated prodnot in a re etition if the process, and removing the desired product from the liquid when the caustic has been used up in the reactions.

10. In the method of manufacture of resorcin which consists of the introduction of the OH groups into sodium benzen disulfonate by fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing off the liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which consists in then concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated prodnot together with an added quantity of caustie in a repetition of the procem.

11. In the method of manufacture of resorcin which consists of the introduction of the OH groups into'sodium benzen disul- ,fonate by fusion of the same with an excess of caustic, then separating the mineral salts therefrom by dissolving the fused material in a quantity of water and permitting said mineral salts to settle, and then drawing off the liquid containing the desired product together with the excess of caustic, the improvement in said method which consists in then concentrating said liquid and reusing the same containing the accumulated product together with an added quantity of canstic in a repetition of the process, and removing the desired product from the liquid when the caustic has been used up in the reactions.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

RAPHAEL PQCIUS. 

